Links
by Karama9
Summary: First part: Nothing Rauru or Sheik said has fully prepared Link for the sight that greets him in the former Castle Town Market when he leaves the Temple of Time. Second part: the Hero of the Wind and Tetra discuss what they want to do with their lives. Third Part: broken heart or not, Link will not abandon his duty.
1. Chapter 1: Courage to Hope

**Courage to Hope**

Link's mind was running in circles as he started walking towards the door that would lead him back outside the temple, seven years after he had entered it. Rauru had said Ganondorf had taken over, and that his evil was spreading… the newly grown-up hero didn't much like the sound of that. Ganondorf had caused the death of the Great Deku Tree, nearly starved the Gorons, and driven Lord Jabu Jabu to madness, all before he became the King of Evil. What else had he done since?

Link shuddered as he walked. It was no good trying to guess; after all, Ganondorf had everything he wanted now, so it wasn't like he needed to bully anyone for anything anymore. Maybe things weren't all that bad. He refused to believe that Saria, for one, was actually hurt. She was fine, she had to be. Why would Ganondorf even bother with a Kokiri? They never gave anyone any trouble; they just stayed in the forest. Just the same, he really needed to get into that temple and make sure she _stayed_ fine. Which meant, according to Sheik, that he needed to hurry to Kakariko village and find whatever it was that would help him get into the temple.

He started jogging without quite realizing it, and ran past the gossip stones towards Castle Town. The sky looked all wrong, but that didn't really mean anything, did it? It was just stormy. Storms happened.

He ran faster. Kakariko first, and then home. Saria was probably in her house, totally fine. Rauru had just been making things sound bad so Link would really want to fix it all. And all Sheik had said was that Saria could not become a Sage because she didn't know she needed to, or something like that. That didn't mean she was hurt. There was just no way things were as bad as those two were making them out to be.

And Zelda… she had escaped, she was fine; she had to be. Just like Saria; they were both fine.

He came to an abrupt stop when he rounded the corner of the outside wall to the temple grounds and found himself facing the Castle Town Market. His eyes went wide and his legs gave out, leaving him on his knees.

He wasn't looking at the Market, he was looking at a nightmare; most of the buildings were only partly still standing, damaged beyond recognition; the stalls were gone; the people…

He heard himself whimper and his stomach contracted in a dry heave. He wrapped his arms around himself and tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone bone dry. In contrast, he felt his eyes flood and mercifully, the world became blurred to his sight.

The bustling crowds of Castle Town's Market were gone; in their stead, the square was filled with ReDeads. Link knew right away where they had come from; it wasn't difficult to add two and two together when loads of living people disappeared and loads of undead creatures appeared in their place.

A bright blur appeared in front of his eyes. "Link!" The tiny voice demanded his attention, as usual.

"Dead…" His own voice came out in a croak. "Everyone… everyone's dead…"

As if in answer, a ReDead screeched.

"We don't know that!" Navi said urgently. She put her tiny hands on either side of his nose, coming as close as she could to holding his head to force his eyes on hers. "Link… I know this looks bad, but it's just one place and we don't even know for sure those are the people that lived here. Ganondorf could have brought them here from somewhere else!"

Link swallowed. A vision of the Kokiri village, destroyed and full of small ReDeads, had just invaded his mind. "What if…" He trailed off; he couldn't even bring himself to say it.

Navi clenched her jaw; it was no good trying to make Link believe in the best case scenario; she'd only be opening him up to more heart aches whenever they found some new horrors. And judging by what Rauru and Sheik had said, and by the spectacle before them now, there would be no shortage of that on their quest.

"Link, listen," she said instead. "Right now, we're the only ones who can prevent Ganondorf from doing even more harm. We don't know how bad it is out there; maybe it IS all the same as here, but…"

"I can't fix it," Link breathed, staring off into the distance. "It's like the Great Deku Tree…" His eyes widened as he remembered Mido unfairly blaming him for the Kokiri's guardian's death. "It's our fault... we… we opened the door for him! We thought we were saving Hyrule, but…" He trailed off, seemingly forgetting he had been in the middle of talking, his eyes fixed on a point far, far away.

Navi chewed on her lips. She had no counter arguments to offer: Link was right. They couldn't fix what had happened, and technically, it WAS theirs and Zelda's fault. Not that she felt any of them were to blame… they had been played by Ganondorf, just like everyone else involved.

Besides, none of that mattered now; Link had a destiny to uphold and as his guardian fairy, Navi needed to help him do just that.

She slapped him. It wasn't in anger, far from it; she could understand how difficult this was to process. Link might not look it anymore, but he was still just a kid; you couldn't expect a mind to do a whole lot of maturing when it was locked in dreamless sleep like his had been for seven years. Kid or not, however, he couldn't stay like this; she needed to snap him out of it.

Link blinked at her. He had barely felt the slap, but it had been enough to clear his head a little. Navi was right; he couldn't just stay here and whine. He needed to get to Saria, and then he needed to get to the other sages. Nayru willing, they were all still alive. And maybe he'd be able to find the princess, too. He hoped she was all right as well.

"Regrets won't do anyone any good, Link," Navi said, echoing his thoughts.

Link nodded and swallowed. He couldn't do anything about what Ganondorf had already done, but that was no excuse to let him do any more. If there was just one Deku Scrub left alive and unharmed in all of Hyrule, Farore help him, Link was going to protect it with his life. Ganondorf wasn't going to hurt anything ever again.

He got to his feet and squinted at the crowd of ReDead. He couldn't fight his way through, there were too many. He turned to Navi. "I'm going to need your help."

"That's why I'm your partner, silly!" Navi said, grinning.

She flew off ahead, looking for a safe path, and willed her aura to turn green when she found it, beckoning her charge to follow her on the next leg of their journey.

**Fin**

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**Author's Notes**

Many thanks to TinySprite for her help with this story, and thank YOU for reading! Please use that nice box below to review and let me know what you think.

This is - hopefully - the first of five stories, each featuring a different Link. Up next are two more one shots - the hero's incarnations from Wind Waker and from A Link to the Past. Following that, I have two more stories in mind featuring OC Links that had cameos in a very old story of mine (Hero) – those may be multi-chapter.

I might even eventually finish Moving On.


	2. Chapter 2: Courage to Give

**Courage To Give**

Tetra leaned on a convenient tree and sighed. They were stretching their legs on a lovely little island, basically just letting the crew enjoy a bit of time off, but instead of relaxing or walking around; Link was cutting grass again. Unless he was actively looking for dropped change or trinkets, he only waged war on local flora when he was lost in thoughts.

Lately, it happened a lot. Ever since they had returned from that strange sea where the Ghost Ship had dragged them… what was it he had seen that wouldn't let his mind rest? She narrowed her eyes and decided she was done wondering; she was finding out exactly what was bothering her friend, now.

"Hey Link!" she called out. "Out of rupees again, are you?"

Link startled and stopped, sheathing his sword and turning to her guiltily. "Yeah," he stammered, "rupees. Could always use some, you know? In case err… we need a map deciphered! Yeah."

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Quit it. I know you got something on that silly little mind of yours. Out with it; what's wrong?"

Link sighed. It wasn't that he wanted to keep it to himself; he just really didn't know where to even begin explaining. Tetra crossed her arms and started tapping her foot; it was pretty obvious she wasn't going to give up on this.

The Hero of the Wind took off his hat and scratched his head, thinking hard. He eventually settled for starting at the beginning; it wasn't exactly the quickest way, but at least it would get him talking and let Tetra know he wasn't just refusing to tell her.

"I've been thinking about Linebeck and another man I met over there," he said. He sat down on the cut grass, imitated by Tetra.

Tetra nodded. 'Over there' was what they called the strange sea the ghost ship had brought them to, the sea that seemed to exist in a completely different realm than their own. She wondered whether Link missed his companions from over there, but quickly dismissed the thought; whatever was bothering Link was deeper than that, she was sure of it.

Link took a deep breath. "Linebeck is pretty much a pirate. He doesn't call himself that, but he's always looking for treasures and he loves the sea. His whole life is to get enough treasures to maintain his boat, get whatever he needs, and keep sailing. He's kind of like us, you know? He's not one of those bad pirates that attack innocent ships or nothing. Pretty much like us."

"Kind of, I suppose," Tetra said. "From what you told me before, he err… likes it safe, doesn't he?"

Link chuckled. "Yeah. I was really surprised when he actually acted brave. But anyway, because he was just after treasure, hardly anyone actually knew him; he maintained this reputation, but it was all made up stuff. The one person I met who really knew him was always attacking us because she was mad at him."

Tetra barked a laugh but sobered up quickly; Link didn't look very amused.

"The other guy just called himself a wayfarer," Link started again. "He sailed everywhere looking for adventures, basically. I guess he managed to find some valuable stuff along the way to survive on his own, but he was just adventuring, you know? Exploring the sea and all that. Kind of like we do, too."

Tetra nodded. "He's not doing it anymore?" she asked.

"He got older and settled down," Link said. "Little island far from everything… he… He had a family and he just upped and left them and never came back. I mean, he lived his dream and all, and his son actually understood and forgave him in the end, but it still seems a bit selfish, doesn't it? I suppose even if he had made himself stay, he would have been unhappy and a bad father with his head out in the waves all the time, but still."

Tetra nodded. "So he'd rather stay all alone on a little island instead of going back to his family? They're probably better off without him."

"He's not actually alone. He had this dream of finding a mermaid someday, and he met this girl who dresses up like one. She's keeping the disguise on and he's telling her all about his adventures and they're both happy as can be." He looked slightly disgusted.

"Why are you thinking about him?" Tetra asked. "I'd just as soon forget someone like that, myself."

Link took a deep breath. "What's different about us?" he asked, his voice growing bitter. "We're just a cross between Linebeck and the Wayfarer."

Tetra's eyes widened before they narrowed in a scowl. "Excuse me?"

"We're just sailing for fun, Tetra. We're living our dream, we're exploring the sea and finding treasure, and… what?"

"How about saving the world?" Tetra cried out, spreading her arms in exasperation. "How can you compare us to a greedy coward and…"

"Linebeck didn't turn out to be a coward," Link corrected her.

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Fine. How can you compare us to a greedy treasure hunter and a happy-go-lucky irresponsible loafer? You think THEY fought Ganon?"

"We're not fighting Ganon now!" Link protested.

"So what, you want to leave?" Tetra got up to stare him down, furious. "Go ahead! If I'm not good enough for you…"

"I don't want to leave you!" Link yelled, getting up as well. He turned a bright red and sat right back down.

Tetra flushed a bit too, but quickly regained her composure. "Then what DO you want?" she asked in a voice that was almost calm again.

"I love being with you guys," Link muttered. "I love sailing and exploring, and I love having no worries and no care. It's like I said, we're living a dream life. "

Tetra's eyes suddenly widened in understanding. "You think you're being selfish, like the wayfarer?"

Link shook his head. "It's not like we know anyone who needs us and we don't bother to go to them," he said, "but…" He sighed. "I just don't want to live like they do forever. I don't want the important part of my life to be over already. I love just lazing around with you guys, but …" He trailed off.

Tetra smiled; now, she understood. "You figure it's time for the vacation to be over."

Link blinked and then smiled too. "Yeah," he said.

Tetra got up and brushed the bits of cut grass off herself. "Then we sail for Windfall Island; there's always _some_ kind of drama on the go there. Well come on, get up already!" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot again, but also gave him her trademark wink. "Vacation's over, buddy; it's time to make ourselves useful again!"

**Fin**


	3. Chapter 3: Courage to Carry On

**Author's Notes**

This is set in A Link to the Past, right after Link completed the Dark Temple (the first dungeon in the Dark World).

This is the last chapter in this story - since the other two heroes I want to write about in this series are OCs of mine and since I'll need more screen real estate to tell their stories than I did for these one-shots, I felt it was more appropriate to set them up as independent stories, despite the common theme with these three.

Thanks for reading!

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**Courage to Carry On**

Link looked up from his map, where he'd been noting down the locations of the other six captive girls. The maiden he had just rescued was patiently looking at him, still locked in her crystal prison.

"Got it," he said, grinning. "Now how do we get you out of that crystal?"

The maiden's eyes lowered. "I will dissolve the crystal when you are gone so that I may wait for the others," she said.

Link blinked. "Why don't you do it right away? I mean… aren't you coming with me? It's not exactly safe around here; I'd rather not just leave you by yourself. I mean, maybe you're a good fighter, I don't know, but you don't have any weapons on you right now, and you're wearing a dress, and…" Link trailed off, trying very hard to make his point without insulting a girl he knew absolutely nothing about.

The maiden smiled sadly. "I would be quite incapable of guarding my life against any monster here," she said, "but I have no life left to guard."

Link felt as though a monster's fist had just closed on his heart. He felt a cold sweat suddenly drench him as the girl's meaning came through, and a lump formed in his throat.

He gulped. "You're not dead," he said. He tried to make it authoritative, as if he could will the facts away with words.

She nodded. "I am sorry, this must feel as though your efforts were in vain. They were not, I promise you. Our spirits will do everything I told you. We will help you defeat…"

"What about the others?" Link interrupted, his voice coming out in barely a whisper. "They can't all be…" he trailed off.

The maiden nodded reluctantly, obviously sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Link realized how badly he was shaking when he lost his balance completely and fell back. He stopped his fall with his hands, but did not take his eyes off the crystal-contained spirit of the first maiden.

Dead. All seven of the maidens, all seven pure souls stolen by Ganon to help the monster escape the formerly Sacred Realm… dead. He couldn't save them; he was too late. He had been too late from the moment they had been sent here by Aghanihm.

Although he felt both foolish and selfish for it, his thoughts centered at once on the last maiden taken by the sorcerer: the princess. He hadn't been able to save her after all; he had done everything he could, he had passed every trial, and it hadn't been enough. Mentally going back through everything since he had helped the princess escape the dungeons of the castle, he found absolutely no fault in his actions, which was at least some comfort.

In much the same way removing a hundred from a thousand blades stabbing you would be some comfort.

The crystal and the maiden within it blurred. Link wiped irritably at his eyes and got back up.

"I started this to help Princess Zelda," he said.

The maiden nodded; she didn't think the young man really needed her to participate in this part of the conversation.

"She woke me up; called me with her mind," Link continued, pointing at his own head. "By my name. I didn't realize she knew my name. I mean… my uncle was a knight, so I guess he told her about me. Maybe he even pointed me out at one of the events I was allowed to attend."

The maiden nodded again, understanding where her rescuer was going perhaps better than he did himself; the boy had been raised to love and respect the royal family, had admired the princess from afar all his life, and had fallen in love with her. If none of these horrific events had happened, the teenage crush would have probably faded as Link continued to have next to no contact with the object of his affections, but once he had been called to her aid, once they had faced and evaded dangers together, the poor boy's heart had been Zelda's, wholly and truly.

"I…" Link trailed off. "I was being raised to be a knight. My uncle always protected the royal family, and that's what I was going to do to. I really wanted to. And when I met the princess…" he trailed off again.

"Zelda was a remarkable person," the maiden offered.

Link nodded. "I just wanted to save her," he admitted. The confession felt bitter; the whole kingdom needed saving, not just the princess.

"I am sorry," the maiden said.

Link took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter what I wanted," he said resolutely. "You didn't want to die; none of you. And the guards I killed didn't either, and neither did your families, or theirs. Nobody wanted any of this. What matters is that the kingdom needs someone to stop Ganon and there are no knights left to do it, so I'll have to do."

He looked at his map again. He needed to get going; he needed to keep moving before he started to think about the princess again. Being distracted by grief was not an option right now; he had a job to do. He said a last thank you to the maiden, then turned and marched out of the chamber without looking back.

He had a kingdom to save.

Fin


End file.
